Day 1: Spring Break in Baja California, México
Introduction:
Though this post comes weeks after our trip (March 24-30, 2013), it is worth highlighting the rationale of our adventure with regard to spending the upcoming year in Chile. Our decision to travel to México was based on a few key factors.
Day 1: San Ysidro, CA to Puerto Santo Tomas, BC
(NOTE: CLICK ON PHOTOS FOR FULL-SCREEN SLIDESHOW)
Though this post comes weeks after our trip (March 24-30, 2013), it is worth highlighting the rationale of our adventure with regard to spending the upcoming year in Chile. Our decision to travel to México was based on a few key factors.
- We need to practice speaking Spanish in an immersive environment. Watching telenovelas on Hulu does not replicate the experience of living in a Spanish-speaking country.
- We need to practice overland travel with kids in a foreign country (military checkpoints, etc.). We are considering buying a vehicle in Chile and driving home via the Pan-American highway.
- We need a warm-up to walking around unfamiliar cities, shopping in strange stores and ordering food from mysterious menus/vendors.
In short, our trip to México is a reality check for what things might be like in Chile. I put together a map that shows the sequence of stops we followed and where we spent considerable time. There are also a suite of pictures that are available below to show what Baja looks like. If I have one regret about the trip, I wish I had taken more photos of the delicious food.
View Baja Spring Break in a larger map
Day 1: San Ysidro, CA to Puerto Santo Tomas, BC
(NOTE: CLICK ON PHOTOS FOR FULL-SCREEN SLIDESHOW)
- Motel 6, San Ysidro. Go get large water bottle and gas jerry can at Home Depot.
- Border crossing. Easy and efficient. Tourist card just past inspection area. Less than 7 days is free!
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| Border Corridor |
- Drive through Tijuana. No stops. Toll road to Ensenada. Beautiful coastline along Salsipuedes, though I only took photos of geological instabilities.
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| Geological Instability |
- In Ensenada, we enjoyed the brief chaos of stepping into another world and learning to navigate shopping for pharmacuticals and cellphone SIM cards and fish tacos. Big flags. Tamarindo candy.
- Drive directly to Puerto Santo Tomas. End-of-the-dirt-road bliss and isolation. $6 per (adult) head to camp in our private paradise. Dinner among the tidepools.
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| An ideal campsite. |
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| Paradise by the sea. |
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| Well Provisioned. |
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| Private Beach |
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| Wave-cut platform in basalt |
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| Kite fashioned from grocery bag |
It flies!
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| Rushing in, rushing out. |
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Dinner at the water's edge.
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| If you stick your finger in it... |
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| Thanks Uncle Paul. |
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| Late night scrabble. |